1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to using piano training as typical of the music teaching industry to disclose new concepts, technology and methods of training musicians. It teaches advances in the state of the art by capturing and processing musical notes in a manner to display an image of the music sheets on a flat screen computer monitor and automatically scrolling the lines of music as the musician plays thereby eliminating the need for musicians to interrupt playing to turn pages of music sheets. Further it eliminates the need for physical music sheets and song books. Further, it relates to the means of storing a “first playing” of music or training instructions, storing those notes in one side of a comparator, processing a “second playing” of the same music and storing those notes in an identical second side of the comparator in a manner enabling a note-by-note comparison of the second playing with the first. The comparison data is used to formulate analyses enabling music teachers to compare trainee practice results with known standards of instruction and practice thus precisely quantifying trainee skill levels, rates of progress and specific training needs. Further, the disclosure teaches a new concept of utilizing electronically generated ‘benchmarks’ for both music trainees and professionals to test themselves against other musicians having a higher degree of music skills than their own.
2. Description of the Related Art
Creating and playing music has evolved over thousands of years. Someone in the distant past learned that a tightly strung sinew would make a pleasant sound if stretched and suddenly released. A few thousand years later the string was tensioned on a bow and used for hunting, making fires etc. Man later learned that a musical sound could be produced if the string were to be vibrated by rubbing a stick across the bowstring - - - the violin was born. Man later learned that changing the tension on the bowstring could change the sound of the tone. This process continued as man made advances in knowledge of the physics, mathematics and mechanics of constructing music instruments. There is now a variety of excellent music producing instruments having distinctly different sounds.
In a parallel development, a unique language evolved as composers of music began using signs, symbols and lines to teach people to play specific notes in predetermined sequences to make music. This musical ‘language’ was formalized and later evolved into the paper sheet music and song books that we know today. Man later learned that changing tension on the bowstring could change the sound of the tone. As more centuries passed, man learned to produce different sounds by varying ‘string’ lengths and ‘string’ materials to produce variations of the sounds Man also learned to make different sounds by blowing his breath through tubes. He then learned to vary the tube lengths to change the tone. He then learned to bore holes of different sizes in the tubes to produce varying sounds by opening and closing combinations of the holes together - - - harmonics - - - the flute was born. This process continued as man made advances in the knowledge of the physics, mathematics and mechanics of constructing music instruments. There is now a variety of excellent music producing instruments having distinctly different sounds. Thousands of years passed as man slowly separated the hunting bowstring and the music producing bow by constructing musical instruments using strings of different diameters. As more centuries passed, man learned to produce different sounds using different string lengths and ‘string’ materials to produce variations of sound.
The method of teaching and practicing music has not kept pace with the advances in music instrument technology. Teaching people to play music has changed little since the first father used endless repetition as a means of teaching his child how to produce music and that child taught his son and daughter and she taught - - - - etc. Training by constant repetition has been passed down virtually unchanged from ancient times, through many generations, and is still the basic training method used today.
Music played at the piano varies in quality from that produced by a beginner to an average piano player to a world-class concert pianist with many levels of musical competence between those degrees. Progressing up the scale from beginner to producing concert quality music requires three factors:
The first is that some gifted people are born with natural talent. We see evidence of innate talent in many functions of our society—sports, music, art, science, leadership etc. The inborn talent of the individual will determine the quality of his/her work provided it is accompanied by two other attributes:
The first of these, regardless of innate talent level, requires a determination to excel and the willingness to practice, practice, practice, practice and a dedicated determination to improve. A musician who has reached world-class status demonstrated natural talent, a determination to excel and has completed years of dedicated practice.
However, at the professional and competitive level there is a third factor that affects the climb toward perfection. That factor is the ability to overcome stress created by an intense desire to achieve perfection. Regardless of talent and dedication, stress will materially affect the performance of the artist. One of the several objectives of the present invention is to reduce some of the sources of that pressure.
To appreciate the effect of mental and physical stress on the quality of music produced by a piano artist we must understand what a musician does and how he/she does it. Piano music is a combination of tones, timing, tempo and harmonics produced by striking a number of keys in a predetermined order. These keys operate to strike wires inside the piano. The wires are of the proper circumference and are under the exact tension required to cause each wire to vibrate at a precise frequency.
The musician plays by following a series of instructions written by the composer in the signs and codes of the music industry. A rough count of sheet music shows approximately fifty different signs and symbols that are instructions from the composer telling the musician how to follow his/her ‘road map’ and the ‘road signs’ to produce the music as he/she wrote it. This ‘roadmap’ controls keystrokes, ‘slower-faster, louder, softer, note combinations, note length, tempo, etc. In addition, while following the road map on the music sheet, the musician must have memorized the location of each of the eighty-eight piano keys arrayed in eight octaves. He/she must make the decision as to what key, or keys to strike with each of ten fingers operating independently and, without looking at the keys, strike various combinations of the eighty-eight keys with constantly varying tempo and force.
At the same time, the musician also must blend the harmonics by controlling the time interval that each of the various combinations (frequencies) exist. This time interval is a factor of the string vibration time that is varied by the musician holding the key down for a shorter or longer interval and/or by the operation of a foot pedal. The musician also must control the amplitude of each note by varying the force with which each key is struck.
Using and controlling the above-mentioned variables while playing, requires the musician to work at tremendous speed—under time pressure—while simultaneously using his/her brain, eyes and ears, to control the fingers, both hands and one foot to work as if they were independent of each other. All this must be done in a coordinated activity requiring split second alterations of these physical movements while using the eyes and brain to comprehend and react to about fifty different instructions on the music sheet. While all the above is progressing at very high speeds the musician must break concentration to turn a page of the music sheet! This break in concentration has, in varying degrees, an adverse effect on the quality of the music played because the distraction results in some degree of mental and physical stress. Some performances require both hands throughout the playing and it is often necessary to have a second musician read the music as it is played and turn the pages at the appropriate time.
At the top of the musical talent and skill hierarchy there is virtually no room for error—any error—however, no human is completely immune to pressure, frustration, distractions or even mental lapse due to fatigue even at the highest talent levels. It is well known that talented, highly skilled people in art, music, sports, and other artistic endeavors must practice continuously to overcome external factors that hinder peak performances. With the present methods of music training, students, professionals, and music teachers are required to practice a piece again and again and again and again and again with no specific ‘feedback’. Practice sessions become boring and the musician may be unknowingly repeating the same mistakes every time the piece is played. The most naturally talented persons at the top of artistic or sports disciplines must practice or their brain and their body will not work together. The brain will tell the musician, the artist, the painter, the athlete etc. that the music will be flawless, the ball will go through the hoop, into the cup or over the net, the oil painting will be perfect but, without constant practice, the hands and feet will not produce what the brain wants them to do. Only intense, regular practice keeps the brain and the physical body in synchronization.
In this regard, music training and practice is different and more mentally difficult than many other disciplines. The sports figure can compete against the best in his/her field and know instantly when ‘the edge’ is gone and what mistakes were made because the result is apparent and the feedback is instantaneous. The oil painting artist has time to view the product and make modifications until satisfied with the result. The musician, however, is producing a transient product that cannot be modified. When the music stops, the product is recorded or gone. The present state of the art requires that he/she ‘train’ (practice) against the Old Masters and other top performers by listening to their music as a standard and audibly comparing it with their present work. The present state of the art requires that musicians have only their ears and their memory to tell them where they left the composer's ‘road-map’ or precisely what caused the different musical result. The musician can often hear and recognize the difference, but the specific keystroke or timing variation from the ‘road map’ that created the error may, or may not be apparent. In any event, the musician is practicing against “the best” with only his/her ears to determine whether the practice session was an improvement or a deviation from the intended result. Few people can be totally objective when judging their own work in this manner. This often results in the artist repeatedly making the same variations from the music sheet each time they perform or practice.
With the present state of the art, training problems become progressively more intense the further one goes down the musical skill hierarchy. Lesser skilled musicians are more dependent on an instructor. However the instructor has only his/her ear to tell when a musical error is made during practice. In addition, repetitive practice is painfully boring to younger people. It is difficult when the student is practicing in the presence of an instructor and is very inefficient (occasionally worthless) when the student is practicing alone.
The present disclosure provides technology to eliminate the stressful distraction of turning pages of music sheets while playing. It also provides a new approach to music training and practicing for all levels of talent, competence and desire to excel. In addition it teaches the technology to apply these principles to a wide variety of music instruments including both stringed and wind instruments. Most importantly, this invention provides a means of combining the skill and dedication of music teachers with technical innovations to take the art of teaching music to new levels of effectiveness. Playing the piano music has the complexity and variable operations to require a comprehensive description of the invention. However, advances in the state of the art taught in this disclosure have application to music training for a variety of other instruments and commercial applications such as frequency measurement devices and piano tuning equipment. These applications will become apparent as the disclosure progresses.